Jun 18 Back to the olden days

I have been very lucky with mobile phones, hardly ever or never dropping them/losing them. For the most part, I have only had to replace them when they've gotten old. And then on Wednesday, I dropped my phone in the (clean! unused!) toilet - a bulky grocery list was competing for space with my phone in my back pocket and they both lost.

So my first smartphone, an off-brand ZTE Blade something or other purchased in March 2015, has been completely or partially on the fritz since Wednesday. And it has been like going back in time to pre-smartphone days!

It's been quiet. My phone has not been chirping and beeping at me about stuff that is going on on the interwebs.

It's been lonely. Harder to keep up with photos and events from friends and family when they're not in your pocket.

It's been a boon for my Kindle. I don't like reading books on my phone, but I also don't like bringing two devices out to the playground. But with my phone dead, the Kindle was back, big time.

It's been annoying. I organize certain aspects of my life using a few key apps, and not being able to access those was a pain. But:

It's been...not that bad! I thought it would be worse than it was to not have a smartphone anymore. And I'm sure I will be happy to have it (or a replacement) back. But it was nice to take a break and remember how life was before I got a smartphone two years ago!